It’s a debate I’ve had many times, with Carole, she thinks I’m
obsessive about running and I think I’m just pretty good at it and feel the
need to give it my best shot. I’ll admit there are things about me that aren’t
attractive but I don’t think I’m an obsessive. I think that people who do
things differently are seen as obsessive, and sometimes I’m the one thinking others
are obsessive.
So to set the record straight, and get Carole off my case
here are some things others may think are obsessive and my explanation of why I
don’t, and some of the things I see as a bit obsessive in other runners that I
know. Of course this isn’t a be all and end all list, I’m sure there are some
other runners out there battling with other obsessive/non obsessive tendencies
and of course non runners who might equally fall into the category of
obsessiveness.
Before I start on the running side of things there is one
area where I feel I share a common ‘obsession’ with other male friends, and
that is around the loading of a dishwasher. It just makes sense to me to put
items in the slots that allow maximum utilisation of the space provided with
the best possibility of getting everything cleaned within one application of
the dishwasher cycle, so why do the women I know think that jamming everything
in but wasting space is more effective?
Right onto the running nonsense:
Mileage - Runners like to keep a log of everything they do
in training. Some logs are written in a huge amount of detail, it’s almost a confessional.
Me, I just write down how long I ran for, what type of session I did (fartlek,
reps (how many)) and how many miles I think that was. Of course I don’t use a
garmin (we’ll come to that later) so my mileage is a guess, but it’s been a
guess for 25 years so what’s the problem. Oh dear I hear people say, how can
you use that as a training guide if you’re not keeping accurate information, to
which I reply, it’s accurate to me, I’m not obsessive about my mileage and I do
use the diaries to remind myself how I was running at a particular time in my
life, it helps me to remember more about the training I did. Sometimes I add in
where I was and who I was with, what the weather was like and even if I had an
injury or an illness. I do add up the wholly inaccurate mileage at the end of a
week, month and year, because I like statistics but to me it’s not about how
much mileage I’ve done it’s about how I’ve performed in races that counts, and
I know that one can be directly influenced by the other, positively and
negatively but….non obsessive! As well as my training log I also keep a record
of every race I’ve ever run, including clippings, well who wouldn’t.
Over the years I’ve come across athletes from different
countries and at one point Belgrave Hall used to be a Kiwi meeting place. Some
of my Kiwi pals told me the story of how, on a night out, one of their running
mates asked if they could run to the pictures so that he could get in the
required mileage for that week, this being the final day of the week. Now I don’t
know if the story is true, some of our fellow runners can be a little loose
with the truth, especially when you get them on the beer, but it sounds like
the sort of obsessive attitude one would expect from some runners.
Collections – I do collect things, I don’t think it’s
obsessive, maybe at times just a bad habit. I’ve come across friends who have a
back catalogue of running magazines, not me, I read them, maybe cut out a
particular article that might be of use in the future, and then I chuck them
out. But like many of the guys in the Facebook group ‘I was, Or Am A Runner !’,
that I’m a part of, we’re now enjoying the benefit of seeing old results posted
by those clever chaps who managed to hold onto their old magazines. Having said
that I do have copies of my old club magazines, Belgrave and Herne Hill, but
mostly for egotistical reasons, i.e. I featured in them.
I don’t collect race numbers, after the race I take them off
as soon as possible and throw them in the bin or recycling box. Though by
accident, i.e. somebody once presented me with the numbers I wore on my
International debut (Masters disclaimer here, I’m not famous) in a presentation
case so I’ve been keeping International championship numbers ever since.
I keep all my medals, most of them mean quite a lot to me,
but I don’t really display them anywhere, I just keep them in a box for when I’m
old and bored. I’ve got hundreds of them and if I start winning some more I’m
going to have to get a bigger box, or another box. I remember being misquoted
by somebody at Edinburgh AC when I once said that I didn’t enter races to win
money but that I considered myself to be a championship runner who ran for
medals rather than money. This came back to me as Roger only runs if there’s a
medal, but then people are so easily misunderstood.
.jpg) |
| A box of medals |
I have kept every team singlet I’ve ever worn and owned.
After 25 years you may think that they’re a bit tatty, like those we sometimes
see on some runners, but no, my policy was always to wear a club singlet in
races but not in training. Of course once I’ve left a club that gives me
training rights over that club’s singlet so eventually they will make the grand
depart. I even still have my very first Belgrave singlet, which I think was
made out of wool and probably accounts for why I finished 129th in
my first cross country race, but it sits at the bottom of a drawer awaiting a
revival when, once again, wool is the singlet of choice. I have a mate who
frames his singlet every time he wins a national championship, they do look
good on his walls, but I’m not sure people wouldn’t think I was obsessive if I
started to do that and I know Carole wouldn’t approve, plus I don’t actually
have enough space.
 |
| Team Singlets, worn by me. South of England, Belgrave Harriers (the adidas years), Herne Hill Harrriers, Scottish Masters, Belgrave again (kept a sheep warm), Edinburgh AC (with the old name) England Masters, Salford Harriers |
I have rather a large collection of trainers, why wouldn’t I,
I need different trainers for different occasions; racers for dry days, racers
for wet days, racers for roads that might have mud on them or sections of
gravel paths, cross country spikes, trail shoes, track spikes, trainers for
plodding, trainers for speed work, trainers for gym work and used trainers for
putting out the rubbish. Naturally I have my trainers on rotation and currently
a couple of pairs sitting in boxes waiting to be used. In fact I have more
trainers than shoes, I’m sure Carole isn’t happy about how many pairs I’ve got
littering the hallway but then I don’t have as many wardrobes full of clothes
as her so it’s not an argument about to happen.
Those cotton t-shirts you get given at races, yes I keep
them all, I find them quite useful for wearing in the sun as I don’t like to
ruin my nice t-shirts with suncream. I also use them to change into after a run
if I’m out somewhere and need to drive to somewhere else and I use them down
the gym. They do get thrown away when they get grubby but, because I have so
many, I see nothing odd about wearing one from a race that occurred 15 years
ago. Carole has a different opinion on that but why waste a good t-shirt just
because it’s part of history.
As I’m still running and thanks to digital media, I have a
growing collection of photographs of me running. It’s rare I look good in
action but I still have to keep them, they’re a record of my past and I’m sure
I’ll look a hell of a lot worse in the future. I’m sure every runner must keep
pictures of themselves in action or holding a trophy so I can’t see this as any
kind of obsession. Keeping photos of other runners maybe…..
Food and drink – As a PT I often get asked about nutrition
and yes I do know about and advise upon nutrition, but I prefer the non diet
method; cut back and eventually out the junk, watch portion size but don’t eat
too little as well as too much, keep drinking fluid and be careful about
alcohol consumption. I feel that I eat and drink in a well balanced way, with
occasional blowouts, I’m only human, but I am careful what I eat and drink the
day before and the day of a race, particularly an important race. In fact
contrary to normal advice I drink very little water before a race, though I try
to ensure I am hydrated, reason being I’ve found that water sloshing around in
my stomach doesn’t suit me. I’ve experimented with food and found what works
for me, sometimes it stops working so I have to change, but I also eat very
little on race day. I can get away with stored energy on the runs I do. I know
my body and how it ticks, you have to find your own thing. Like a lot of the
runners from my era I did used to drink the night before races, though only
occasionally to excess, I still enjoy a drink the night before, just depends
how fit I am and how important the race is as to how much I drink, but beer is
out, I can no longer handle beer before a race, though after is a different
story.
Garmin/Strava/MapMyRun – As I’ve written previously, I do
keep a log of my training but I don’t upload anything to the computer. Partly because
I’ve never owned a garmin, have always liked using small watches, and can’t be
bothered with the faff, the casio suits my purposes. I have many friends who
upload everything and whilst I can see the benefit that can be derived from
using technology I’m happy with what I’ve done. I know when I’m running well, I
don’t need anything or anyone else to tell me. I also know (and here’s the
psychology) when I’m not running well but I don’t need technology to tell me I’m
running worse than I think I am, plus, whilst I’m quite open about my training,
I never lay it all out for my opponents to see, uploading my runs onto the
internet would give away all my training secrets… I run how I feel, if I feel
good I run fast, if I don’t I don’t run fast, it’s simple really.
So having written this blog and gone through various
pointers it’s clear I’m not obsessive, just a little different. It’s also made
me realise that some of my friends aren’t as obsessive as I thought they were,
though they’re still more obsessive than me.
Written by Roger Alsop
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